Gas burner assembly for incinerators



R. L. CHRISTOPHEL 3,420,613

GAS BURNER ASSEMBLY FOR INCINERATORS Jan. 7, 1969 m 2 f m O a u e h I S4 an a Q 4 4 5 m o F 6 u 56 o 0 M 3/ i 1 4 G I1 5 F 7 A 2 ,M M 6 L 6 9 fl 0 V 5 o l x o o 2 t. o a C 4 W, 2 .M O 5 ll? ||ll 0 w 3 m a a u r I -Li1: F u. I 1 I I I I l| llllllllllllllllllll IIL MHHHwH Y|i|-|-li.l-

FIG. 2

Inventor Reuben L. Chris toph e] his A1 orney 1969 R. 1.. CHRISTOPHEL 3,

GAS BURNER ASSEMBLY FOR INCINERATORS 2 f o I: 0 2 @YM G 4 t I III! S I II III W H HJP HHI UH MW MWHIH HHHI w I l I 1 I V |l |l lll ullll lllll hS 2 5 4 7 A 4 fi 1? I Filed Oct. 10, 1966 FIG. 3

FIG. 4

Invenior: Reuben L. Chris tophel United States Patent 4 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE A smooth Working assembly including a number ofstandard parts is provided by positioning the parts in such spacerelationship as to avoid practically all of the many objections to gasburners for small outdoor incinerators. The primary purpose is toarrange the parts so that mini mum attention need be given the assembly.

A main gas burner is connected to a source of gas by a passageway havingin it a safety valve for shutting off the flow of gas in event of flamefailure. The main gas burner has a discharge head and a pilot is locatedadjacent that discharge head. A thermocouple bears a particular relationto the pilot, which particular relation is characterized by the factthat the thermocouple is energized by the adjacent pilot, both of whichare positioned to be supplemented by the heat and flame from the mainburner. Pilot stability is supported by the main burner flame tomaintain a constant pilot flame even in adverse wind conditions. Thethermocouple is so positioned to be energized not only from the pilotburner but also by the radiated heat from the main burner flame. Thisrelation of pilot and thermocouple is considered new and highlyeflicient.

Associated with the foregoing special relation of pilot and thermocoupleis a stabilizing shield to house the pilot and the thermocouple, saidshield having a sloping top, a rear portion having openings to receivethe pilot and thermocouple, and two closed sides, the bottom of theshield being open.

Background In seeking to design a gas burner assembly to complement ourgun type oil burner and yet be equally competitive in price andefficiency, it was found by extensive study and test that while theseveral well known gasusing elements work excellently with each other innormal relationship, they have to have those relationships altered tomake the assembly substantially fool-proof when the units must beexposed to the weather. As a typical example, a thermocouple is damagedby too much heat but if the heat is too low this tiny but essential partwill fail to generate the proper number of millivolts. But by placingthe thermocouple in an unusual location where it is energized by thepilot and supported by the main burner flame it works excellently. Insuch position the thermocouple and the pilot flame must be shielded atback, top and on both sides but the stabilizing shield must be open downtoward the burner flame and forward in the direction of that flame.

Brief summary This invention relates to gas burners and particularly toburner assemblies for fire clay lined incinerators which providecomplete cremation of poultry refuse weighing from 600 to 1,000 poundsin from three to four hours, using perhaps as much as 250,000 B.t.u.s.Many of the parts are well known and old but the specific spacerelationship arrangements are the result of extensive study and test inorder to make the units work reliably even ice under severe climaticconditions as the units are intended for outside use and must bedesigned to require minimum attention.

Figures In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the assembly taken just inside of thenear long bracket.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view omitting the two weather protecting shields.

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation looking from within the incinerator towardthe discharge end or head of the burner.

FIGURE 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a section through the plug in the end of the lighter tube.

Description The readily obtainable standard parts include a spring-Wound four-hour timer 10, a safety valve 11 which closes the gas supplyentering at 12 in the event of failure of the pilot or burner, anatmospheric venturi inshot burner 14 with the usual draft control 15near the intake 16 of the venturi. Other parts which are old are theburner head 20, the pilot 22 fed from the safety valve 11 by the coppertube 25 and the thermocouple 26 connected electrically to the safetyvalve 11 by wiring within the tube 27. In place of the usual lightingarrangement, a strip lighter tube 30 having a longitudinal plurality ofholes 31 is provided and forms a somewhat downwardly flow of gas becauseof a drilled plug 32 within the end of the tube 30. This lighter tubereceives gas from the safety valve 11 and terminates slightly forward ofthe burner head 20, thus Well avoiding scorched fingers.

The supporting structure for the various parts is shown in all fourfigures. To the curved wall 35 of the incinerator, two vertical angleirons 36 and 38 are welded as at 40, affording support for two largerearwardly extended tapered brackets 41 which at their forward smallerends 42 are bent inward as at 44 and then are bolted as at 43 to thesafety valve 11 thus supporting the assembly at its rear portion whilethe burner head 20 rests upon a transverse strap to which it is weldedas at 51, the strap being bolted to the brackets 41 as at 52. Thesmaller rain shield 53 (FIG. 1) is riveted as at 54 to the angle iron 36and 48 to afford protection and yet allowing ready access to the partsshown at the top of FIG. 4. The larger snow and rain rear shield 55 isriveted as at 56 to an inverted stirrup 58 rising from the two brackets41.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the opening 60 in the incinerator wall 35 iscircular and co-axial with the burner head 20. The position of the head20 of the burner with respect to this orifice is critical because if theburner projects too far, the temperature within the incinerator is toohigh whereas too slight a projection causes insufficient temperature toenergize the thermocouple.

Since this unit is used to burn trash and not just to generate heat, thedemand for secondary air is much greater than can be provided by theventuri of the burner. The temperature may exceed 1000 or 1200 F. Inaddition to providing secondary air, this movement of air over theburner keeps the burner and the related parts cool because of thepassing air current.

If the burner head 20 were placed too close or too far into the hole,the intense heat from the burning mass itself would exceed the maximumtolerance of the thermocouple, and thereby cause rapid deterioration ofsame. Too close positioning would also result in early deterioration anddamage permanently to the burner itself.

The circular opening should be between 3 /2" and 6" in diameter and theburner head should be about an inch short of the opening in order toprovide adequate intake of air to the burner and to supply enough oxygento burn the trash in the incinerator.

In order to diffuse the burner flame, two strips of stainless steel, onesmooth 65, and the other corrugated 66, are wound spirally and fittedwithin the burner head leaving an opening 67 of about an inch indiameter. This creates an irregular intact surface for the gas releaseand insures against blowing out of the flame.

The stabilizing shield 70 is of great importance as it creates withinits confines a pocket of relatively still air separated from the airmoving rapidly over the shield, hence protecting the pilot flame fromextinction and insuring that the temperature at the thermocouple isstabilized and therefore will generate the necessary number ofmillivolts to hold the safety valve open; in other words to provide atemperature reflecting pocket to stabilize the pilot flame as well as toproperly support the thermocouple, This stabilizing shield, as best seenin FIGURE 4, has an 18 sloping upper surface 71 which will position theend of the thermocouple 26 very slightly above the line of flame fromthe burner and slightly within the curved surface of the incineratorwhen continued through the orifice 60. The shield has also a nearlyvertical back wall 72 and two side walls 73 and 74. The pilot flame asusual is directed both vertically downward to be tangent to the mainflame and horizontally sideways as at 75 to heat the thermocouple.

Referring now to FIGURE 5, since most incinerators have high stacks, thesuction through the opening 60 is great and hence it is necessary tohave this stabilizing shield 70 and to direct a flame within theconfines of the shield. To this end and to insure that gas will flowthrough the holes 31, the plug 32 hollow as at 81 at its rear end andhaving a radial hole 82 directed downward not only slows the flow whileincreasing the pressure but passes a flame under the near side of thestabilizing shield and provides for the pilot lighting.

To start the device, the timer is first set, then the red button 83 atthe top of the safety valve 11 is pressed down and the button 84 of thestrip lighter simultaneously held up, these two actions togetheradmitting gas to the pilot 22 and to the strip lighter 30, but not tothe burner 14. Next the lighter 30 is lighted as the operator stillholds both buttons. The flame coming from the end of tube 30 throughradial passage 82 being directed below the near wall of the stabilizingshield 70 ignites the pilot.

After holding the buttons a suflicient number of seconds to energize thethermocouple 26, both buttons are now released which shuts the gas offfrom the strip lighter and opens the flow of gas to the main burner. Themain burner is now ignited by the downwardly directed flame from thepilot 22. Since the pilot flame continues at all times until the timershuts off the gas, the sidewise flame from the pilot directed toward thethermocouple 26, plus the heat from the main burner and with the aid ofthe stabilizing shield maintains the required temperature for thethermocouple.

What I claim is:

1. A gas burner assembly comprising:

(A) a main gas burner having a burner head adapted to project a flameforwardly therefrom;

(B) a passageway connecting the burner to a source of (C) a safety valvein said passageway for shutting off the gas in event of flame failure;

(D) a pilot adjacent the burner discharge head;

(E) a thermocouple proximate the pilot and coupled to actuate saidsafety valve;

(F) a stabilizing shield assembly housing the pilot and thethermocouple; said shield having a sloping top, a rear portion havingopenings receiving the pilot and the thermocouple, and two closed sides;the bottom of the shield being open; and means mounting the assembly onthe burner head so as to extend forward of the burner head with the topsloping down towards and terminating closely adjacent the surface ofsaid flame; and

(G) said thermocouple and pilot thereby being so positioned that thethermocouple is energized not only from the pilot but also by theradiated heat from the main burner flame and additionally the pilot isenergized by the flame from the main burner whereby pilot stability issupported by the main burner flame to maintain a constant pilot flameregardless of adverse wind conditions.

2. The assembly of claim 1 plus an incinerator having a wall with acircular orifice through which the burner flame passes, the dischargehead being spaced from and concentric with said orifice for entry ofsecondary air, and said shield extending into the orifice.

3. The assembly of claim 1 in which the thermocouple is tilted 18 withits tip at a level with the highest point of the interior of the burnerhead.

4. The assembly of claim 2 in which the orifice has a diameter ofbetween 3 /2" and 6".

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 383,316 5/1888 ORielly 158-115791,923 6/1905 Machlet 158-27.4 1,275,652 8/1918 Borge -18 2,267,742 12/1941 Mantz 136-4 2,610,675 9/1952 Downe 158-116 X 2,670,394 2/ 1954 West158-131 2,728,384 12/ 1955 Anderson 158-115 3,005,487 10/ 1961 Thiele158-131 3,034,572 5/ 1962 Kinsey 158-115 X 3,136,353 6/1964 Lloyd158-115 X FOREIGN PATENTS 518,639 11/1955 Canada.

FREDERICK KETTERER, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

